Local people come to attend a celebration as the Merowe Dam began to generate electricity, Merowe, Sudan, on March 3, 2009. Merowe Dam, the longest of its kind on the world famous Nile river in Sudan's Northern province, some 450 km north of the capital city Khartoum. With a total span of 9.7 km and a maximum height of 67 meters, the Merowe Dam is a multipurpose project designed for power supply and agricultural irrigation. It has a 1.24-billion-cubic-meter reservoir that could help more than 4 million local residents living along the Nile. The dam was built by a joint venture formed by China Water Resources and Hydropower and China International Water and Electric Corp. [Xinhua]

Photo taken on Mar. 3, 2009 shows a scene of the Merowe Dam in Merowe, Sudan, on March 3, 2009. [Xinhua]